Potato-masher.



No. 7l2,264. Patented Oct. 28, I902.

J. .D. CONEY.

POTATO MASHER.

(Application filed May 17,: 1899;)

(No Model.)

| ETEHS c0. mo'roumow WASHINGTON n c UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. CONEY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN B. TIMBER- LAKE, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

MASHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 712,264, dated October 28, 1902.

Application filed May 17,1899.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES D. CONEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Mashers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a side view of my improved mashing implement. Fig. 2 is a plan View. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section.

The object of this invention is to provide a light handy implement or utensil by which I 5 the mashing of vegetables, such as potatoes,

can be accomplished in a superior manner,

which shall have its operativeparts made of a single piece of wire bent so as to provide two substantially circular bases, which shall not have any part of the wire crossing over or under any other part thereof, which shall have no loose or free ends at or adjacent to,

the operative part, which shall be formed of light elastic wire and yethave all of its parts so relatively arranged as to brace and strengthen each other, which when in operation will free itself of material, and which can be quickly and easily cleansed.

The features of improvement of my construction will be readily understood from comparison with those of the same general class which have been heretofore made or proposed.

In some cases the earlier devices have had a single central vertical wire turned or bent to form a single helix or coil at the bottom and having the lower loose or free end of the wire either unattached to any other part or bent up and connected to the vertical stem. In other cases there have been four legs or downward-projecting wires, which at the bottom carried a coil or helix and which had some of the Wires arranged to cross over or under others. In other cases the wire has been bent at the bottom or operative part to form two halves, one half on one sideof the vertical plane passing through the legs and the other half 'at the other side of said plane. To each of these styles of implement difficulties are incident, which I have found it Serial No. 717,227. (No model.)

very desirable to obviate. Where a single coil has been carried by a single shank or stemwire, the implement lacks sufficient rigidity throughout its parts unless it is made of very strong stiff wire, and when the latter is used the desirable elasticity and rigidity cannot be present.

In cases Where parts or sections of the operative wire are arranged to cross horizontally above or below other sections the implement lacks the capacity to yield and operate uniformly and, moreover, cannot free itself of the crushed material and cannot be readily cleaned. after use. In contrast with these earlier constructions l'make my implement as follows: It has a wooden handle part A and the doubled wire B, having the two downwardly-extending strands b b. These are twisted together at the ends of the wire, as shown at b, a part of which twisted por- 7o tion is firmly inserted into the wooden handle, and the remainder extends a short distance below in order to provide stiffness and bending. From the twisted part b the strands extend downward on the lines of an arch diverging a suitable distance, as shown at 6 At the bottom there are two helices or coils c, which are homologous so far as concerns their position, but which vary in that the direction of the coil in the one is the reverse of that in the other-that is to say, they are both'approximately circular as bases, but together constitute an entire base which may be considered as S-shaped when looked at from below, each curl or curve of the design being that of a helix and each being connected to the other by a continuation of its outer coil. Thisconnection is preferably in line with the handle, giving stability and uniformity of action to the two coils. By having the coils thus inverted as to each other I avoid the presence of any straight section of wire, and the whole base part is balanced as to the downward-extending leg parts 19 As no part of the wire comes over or under another, elas- 5 ticity is not interfered with, and the several sections are springy and will readily clear themselves while in operation. The two legs lie at the vertical axes of the approximately circular bases. 10o

Preferably the inner smaller coils c are a little higher than the outer Wider ones 0 but, if preferred, all of the several coils of each part of the base may be in the same horizontal plane.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a handle and a masher comprising a loop having its ends secured to the handle and its intermediate parts bent to form two shanks and a united pair of spiral coils extending outwardly from said shanks, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a handle, and a masher comprising a loop secured at its ends to said handle, and having its intermediate parts bent to form two shanks, anda pair of spiral coils having their outermost turns united, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a handle and a masher, comprising a Wire loop secured at its ends to said handle, and in its intermediate portions formed into a united pair of downwardly-expanding spiral coils, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a handle, and a masher comprising a wire loop secured at its ends to said handle and having its intermediate portions bent to form two shanks and a pair of spiral coils having their outermost turns united substantially in the line of the handle, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a handle, and a masher comprising a wire loop formed as an S-shaped pair of coils, and secured at its ends to said handle said ends leading to said handle from the centers of said coils, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES D. CONEY.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM K. SAGENDORPH, MONICA B. THOMPSON. 

